Mike Graham: For Hoosiers, where there's a Will, there's a way

It was a wide-open, 15-foot jump shot that any college basketball player worth his weight should make all day long.

That is, unless a berth in the Sweet 16 NCAA men's basketball tournament — and perhaps more important, a crucial step forward in the resurgence of a storied college basketball program — were squarely on the line.

That was the scenario in which Stuart native and Indiana University sophomore forward Will Sheehey found himself when the ball came to him Saturday in the closing seconds of an NCAA second-round game tied at 61.

Sheehey responded by sinking maybe IU's biggest postseason basket in 25 years, from almost the same spot on the court as Keith Smart's 1987 championship-winner in New Orleans. This one, with 12.7 seconds left, gave IU the 63-61 victory over Virginia Commonwealth and sent the Hoosiers on to their first Sweet 16 in a decade.

Indiana had rallied from a late five-point deficit. Sheehey's roommate, sophomore Victor Oladipo, grabbed a defensive rebound off a missed VCU three-point attempt. Oladipo drove the length of the court, all the way to the basket, but his layup was blocked. The basketball bounced to Sheehey on the left baseline so quickly that the closest VCU defenders still were clustered under the basket,

Instead of pulling the ball out to wind down the clock for a last-second shot, Sheehey did what comes natural to him — shoot.

"(VCU) made a great play guarding the rim," said Sheehey, the former South Fork standout, "and at the time I thought the momentum was on our side. We had made a little comeback there, and I'm comfortable shooting at that range.

"It was pretty open, so I decided to take it."

And make it.

"I felt that our team was really just making a push," Sheehey said, "and (the basket) was pretty much icing on the cake."

It also pushed the Hoosiers back into a spotlight that they haven't enjoyed for years. Sure, Indiana has had its share of basketball success — 36 NCAA appearances (62-30 record) and five national titles (1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987) — but the Hoosiers had been downright awful (28-66) in three seasons since coach Tom Crean replaced scandal-ridden Kelvin Sampson.

The fun for Sheehey and his teammates probably ends Friday at Atlanta against top-seeded Kentucky (9:45 p.m. CBS-TV), but the Hoosiers did beat the Wildcats in December on a three-pointer at the buzzer by Christian Watford.

And if Friday's game somehow comes down to the final seconds with the outcome still in doubt and the ball is in Sheehey's hands, it's a safe bet that he won't hesitate to do what comes natural — shoot.